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Rice Football 2023: UConn Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts UConn this week in their final non-conference game of the season. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

A week removed from their first ever AAC win, Rice football returns to non-conference play for one final time this season against UConn. The health of quarterback JT Daniels remains a question heading into the week, but there was some good news on that front, as well as some clarification on how the team will build their gameplan as they prep for the Huskies.

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This week’s roundup focuses on Daniels’ status for Saturday, what the Owls are doing alongside of him and a few defensive beliefs that are driving the Owls on that side of the ball.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

He’s back!

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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: UConn

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Rice football hosts UConn in their final nonconference game of the season. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Rice football rallied in the fourth quarter to beat East Carolina at home last weekend. UConn thought they’d managed a similar turnaround, only to see their potential game-tying extra point extra point blocked. The Huskies enter this game 0-5. Rice is 3-2. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and UConn.

Kickoff time | 4:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UConn on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

Everything has seemingly gone wrong for Jim Mora and company this year. A sixth loss wouldn’t officially eliminate them from postseason — a five-game deficit feels insurmountable already — but the mood around the program would certainly further decay. As for the Owls, Rice could move two games above .500 and enter the bye week within two games of a second consecutive bowl berth.

Series History

All Time | No previous meetings
Last Five | No previous meetings
Last Meeting | No previous meetings

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Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 98/157 (62.4 percent), 1469 yards, 13 TD, 4 INT
Rushing | Connors – 34 carries, 138 yards (4.1 yards per carry), 1 TD / Alexander – 18 carries, 35 yards (1.9 yards per carry), 5 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 23 receptions, 414 yards (18.0 yds/rec), 4 TDs / Walker – 11 receptions, 190 yards (17.3 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Morrison – 32 / Wyatt – 31 / Conti – 29
Pass Breakups | Fresch – 5 / Taylor – 4 / Jean – 3 
Interceptions | Devones, Conti – 1

UConn Stat Notables

Passing | Roberson – 70/122 (57.4 percent), 755 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Rosa – 57 carries, 310 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 2 TD / Houston – 34 carries, 161 yards (4.7 ypc), 0 TD
Receiving | Buckman – 22 receptions, 261 yards (11.9 yards per reception), 1  TD / Joly – 16 receptions, 195 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Mitchell – 47 / Jones – 30 / Plack – 28
Pass Breakups | Bin-Wahad – 3 / Cross, Bell – 2
Interceptions | Mitchell, Shearin – 2

UConn X-Factor | Take some risks, offensively

The Huskies have not been that productive as an offense through five games, averaging a meager 17.0 points per game, sixth worst in the country. East Carolina wasn’t exactly a juggernaut coming into its bout with Rice either, but the Pirates were able to move the ball against the Owls, albeit without finding the endzone enough.

The Rice defense has been chaotic all season long, mixing havoc plays and turnovers in with long pass plays and poor tackling at times. If previous games are any true indicator, UConn is going to have opportunities. They need to force the issue and make Rice bring their A-game on defense, which has allowed several quarterbacks to post great games against them thus far.

Road underdogs, UConn isn’t winning this game without some fortunate bounces. They’re certainly shouldn’t plan on outdueling a Rice offense that, while disjointed at times, has proven to be effective more often than not when JT Daniels is on the field.   

Rice X-Factor | Pound the Rock

Head coach Mike Bloomgren has mentioned his willingness to lean into the pass this season if it helps his team win football games, but even he will admit posting back to back sub-40-yard rushing games isn’t going to get it done. Rice needs to find a way to run the football rather than waiting on JT Daniels to bail them out, even if No. 18 has managed to do so time and time again.

UConn has allowed more rushing touchdowns than more than 100 FBS teams. The Huskies have been respectable in many of their other defensive metrics against the run, but when push comes to shove, they’ve been blown over with regularity. 

Rice won’t face many other defenses this season that have been proven to be this susceptible to the ground game. It’s not quite a make-or-break moment, but this facet of the Owls’ attack is one of the lone stones left unturned so far this season. Getting the ground game going would be a huge confidence boost before the team heads into the bye week.

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One Final Thing

Saturday was an ugly win for Rice football. The defense made the final plays, but got gashed along the way. The offense let a lot of points on the board and the special teams unit missed another important kick. Had the result been different, there would have been a lot of frustration with the performance, and frankly, some angst is justifiable. 

That’s what makes this coming game so crucial. UConn is not a good football team, by any measure. The Huskies are winless with their closest losses coming against FIU and Utah State. Their defense has been gashed in all five games and their offense hadn’t shown much of a spark prior to putting up 33 points in a losing effort against Utah State last weekend.

This is a game Rice football is supposed to win. The Owls would like to believed they’ve graduated from playing “winnable” games to a team that takes care of business against so-called inferior opponents. Nobody from within the walls of the Brian Patterson center will verbalize it that way, but UConn is an inferior opponent. Rice should win, and win comfortably.

If the Owls can do that, they’ll be back on schedule, assuring many that the USF loss was a bump on the road to a season that can still become very special.

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Rice Football 2023: East Carolina Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts East Carolina this week in the first-ever AAC home game for the Owls. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

A road loss with an injury to quarterback JT Daniels was not how Rice football had hoped to start its time in the American Conference. They’ll have a chance to right the ship and move back above .500 overall this week if they can take care of business against East Carolina, but concerns regarding Daniels’ availability have been unavoidable as the team prepares for the game ahead.

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This week’s roundup focuses on Daniels’ status for Saturday, a few players who have made the case for more playing time this week as well as the continued conundrum of the Rice running game.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Let’s talk quarterback JT Daniels

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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: East Carolina

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Rice football hosts ECU in their first-ever AAC home game this weekend. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

East Carolina dismantled FCS Gardner-Webb this past weekend, much in the same way Rice Football disposed of their FCS opponent, Texas Southern, two weeks ago. The Owls were less fortunate in their conference opener on Saturday against USF, falling 42-29. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and ECU.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs ECU on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

Rice owns the lone FBS win between these two programs, upsetting Houston to clinch the Bayou Bucket in Week 2. Since then the Owls have seen their star quarterback JT Daniels get knocked out of a game with injury and are in need of some good news. ECU is still searching for an FBS win to alleviate some concerns in Greenville over the sluggish start. It’s a bit early in the season for a must-win game, but both programs really want this one.

Series History

All Time | Tied, 2-2
Last Five | Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting | Home 2010, Rice won 62-38

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 80/125 (64.0 percent), 1237 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Connors – 29 carries, 139 yards (4.8 yards per carry), 1 TD / Alexander – 17 carries, 35 yards (2.1 yards per carry), 5 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 20 receptions, 370 yards (18.5 yds/rec), 4 TDs / Walker – 8 receptions, 178 yards (22.3 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Wyatt, Morrison – 27 / Conti – 22 / Taylor – 20
Pass Breakups | Fresch – 4 / Jean – 3 / Wyatt, Taylor, Narcisse – 2 
Interceptions | Devones – 1

ECU Stat Notables

Passing | Flinn – 34/68 (50.0 percent), 365 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT / Garcia – 32/55 (58.2 percent), 234 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Harris – 42 carries, 171 yards (4.1 yards per carry), 3 TD / Garcia – 32 carries, 178 yards (5.6 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | Johnson – 16 receptions, 178 yards (11.1 yards per reception), 0 TD / Hatfield – 9 receptions, 128 yards (14.2 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Wood – 30 / Edwards – 29 / Jackson – 19
Pass Breakups | Davis, Wilk, Rogers, Jones tied with 2
Interceptions | Jackson – 1

ECU X-Factor | Protect the Football

ECU enters the game +1 in turnover differential, but they were -3 entering their game against Gardner-Webb before posting a +4 differential in that contest. Even in that game, ECU still turned the ball over once. Through four games, they have yet to post a turnover-free result. That might not matter against an FCS opponent, but it has mattered in their FBS games so far. 

The Pirates lost the turnover battle in each of their first three games and were tied for fourth-worst in the AAC in turnovers entering Saturday. That’s a recipe for disaster, especially on the road. Rice has only forced three turnovers so far this season, but they’ve been close on a few other plays and have enough playmakers on defense to make ECU nervous. They can’t afford to tempt fate here.

Rice X-Factor | Get off the field

For all the missteps Rice football suffered in their loss to South Florida, the inability to get off the field on defense was the most concerning.  Excluding drives that ended in the end of the half, Rice kept USF from scoring three times. Five touchdowns allowed and two field goals, seven scoring drives, against three stops is not sustainable, particularly when everyone in the stadium knows who is getting the ball before the play happens.

If JT Daniels is available, winning a shootout will always be a possibility, and backup quarterback AJ Padgett has flashed in limited duty before, but winning football for Rice will always rely in some capacity on a competent defense. The Owls didn’t have that last weekend and the results were, unfortunately, predictable.

ECU is converting a modest 36 percent of their third downs on offense and scoring 22 points per game, which includes their recent thumping of Gardner-Webb. This shouldn’t be an offense that can run circles around the Rice defense. The Rice pass rush needs a bounce-back game in the worst way, as does the secondary. No matter the quarterback, this one is going to depend on a solid defensive showing. 

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One Final Thing

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren always likes to fall back on the mantra that things are never as good and never as bad as they feel in the moment. The Owls’ season seemed to be rocketing upward after the Houston win and falling to pieces after the USF loss. This team has to hope the reality is somewhere in between.

There are no more Power 5 opponents on the schedule. Instead, the road ahead should be manageable. If Rice proves they can bounce back and take care of business at home against a sub-.500 team, things will revert back toward their optimistic beginnings. If not, there probably should be some soul-searching done after a strong start.

Regardless, no referendums should be made as a result of any one game. That’s a statement, as I write it, feels doomed to be ignored no matter how the East Carolina game goes. But in all fairness, that’s how this sport is consumed, more often than not and this program showed Saturday it has work to do before it fully earns the benefit of the doubt. 

So, as Bloomgren and his players often say, Rice needs to go 1-0 this week in a very winnable and very much-needed game.

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USF outguns Rice Football, hands Owls first AAC loss

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Rice Football traded blows with a potent USF offense early, but was unable to sustain the fight for four quarters, falling in their AAC opener on the road.

As if the loss wasn’t painful enough, the added insult of an injury to Rice football quarterback JT Daniels cast a further shadow over what was meant to be a hopeful beginning for the Owls in AAC play. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Set the tone

The opening quarter didn’t quite go according to plan for Rice football on Saturday. They were forced to punt on their opening drive and allowed a 12-play, 62-yard scoring drive by the USF offense, aided by some penalties and missed tackles along the way. Holding their opponents to a field goal was a good start, but the Owls needed to ensure they gave their defense a breather by producing an extended drive the next time out.

Not only did JT Daniels and Co. deliver, they delivered their message emphatically. Dean Connors converted a short third down and moved the sticks on the ground. Then Luke McCaffrey hauled in a 47-yard reception to get Rice inside the redzone.

Rice brought the jumbo package in, but Daelen Alexander was stopped for a minimal gain on third down, setting up a critical fourth and one. For the brand and for the psyche of his team, head coach Mike Bloomgren had no choice to make. He absolutely had to go for it. But how he elected to get that final yard and change, that had some room for creativity.

The big men trotted onto the field once again after a timeout, but this time Bloomgren and offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo threw a curveball that nobody on the USF defense was ready for. Daniels faked to Alexander, then calmly tossed the ball to the freshman tailback for the go-ahead touchdown.

Rice found themselves in a similar “momentum moment” in the final minute of the second quarter. Trailing for the first time that day, quarterback JT Daniels led a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to put Rice back in front that included a big fourth down conversion.

There have been times in recent seasons when it has felt like everything was breaking the wrong way for this team. There were a few plays on Saturday that served as small counterpoints.

One-on-none

USF goes as Byrum Brown goes. The Bulls quarterback is a lethal threat on the ground, but Rice was able to neutralize that aspect of his game. His arm was the problem, or at least, what his arm was able to do to the Owls’ secondary.

After a sluggish start to the game, Brown and the USF offense got into gear and started their aerial assault. From the middle of the second quarter on, Brown completed passes of 53, 51, 59, 42, 49 and 52 yards. One long bomb is too much. Three is a problem. But six pass plays allowed of 40+ yards? That’s a disaster, regardless of which offense is on the other side of the field.

Getting prepared for the furious tempo USF plays with was a focal point all week. But the defensive backs in coverage had plenty of time and space to make sure the ball wasn’t able to get behind them and it didn’t seem to matter.

The pass rush has been a huge boost to a young secondary so far this season. But when the pass rush doesn’t get home (or doesn’t have time to reach its target) the downside is terrifying. Rice experienced what had to be pretty closer to the worst-case scenario on Saturday and they’ll have plenty of film to watch as they attempt to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Don’t beat yourself

The notion of not beating yourself has saturated the Rice football culture this season. Bloomgren reiterated the concept quite eloquently during his midweek availability.

“I just can’t sell these guys enough that it’s all about us. That’s a very good football team on the other side,” Bloomgren said. “They’re playing with a lot of belief right now. I think Alex [Golesh] is doing a great job instilling his culture there, but right now, this game is not going to be about what South Florida does. It’s going to be about the Rice Owls do.”

Although there were plenty of big Rice moments, what the Rice Owls did on Saturday was littered with sloppy play and self-inflicted wounds. Kicker Tim Horn missed two field goals. Punts were short. The Owls had their fair share of inconvenient penalties. USF’s lone first quarter touchdown run would not have happened had Rice not allowed a deep shot earlier in the drive and then missed several tackles on the run itself.

And that’s all before accounting for the secondary’s terrible day. Most of the time, playing sloppily on the road results in a loss. On Saturday, it did.

Gut punched

Including Rice football’s debut game in the Southwestern Conference in 1915, more than 100 years ago, Rice has yet to win its conference opening game. That includes a loss to start SWC play, WAC play, C-USA play and now AAC play.

On Saturday, Rice had the chance to begin the season 3-1 for the first time since 2001 and squash some uncertainty lingering within the program. They missed that chance. Instead of looking at the standings this weekend and seeing Rice tied with Memphis for first place in the conference, the Owls are tied for last.

The road ahead looks (somewhat surprisingly) more manageable than it might have before the season began. Both East Carolina and UConn entered Saturday winless. Rice gets both teams on their home turf. Making the most out of that pair of games is paramount now after the Owls missed their first opportunity to find their first American Conference win.

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When you’ve got a quarterback…?

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